1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to interrupts of energy transfer lines, and more particularly, to hermetically sealed safing mechanisms for high levels of shock and vibration suitable for working with, or without, a safety release in key operated rotary locks.
2. Related Art
Detonator assemblies typically can only be initiated after a safing mechanism has been unlocked and an interlocking element of the safing mechanism is free to proceed into alignment with a diametrical bore of the detonator. The volatile nature of explosive charges used in aircraft, missiles, space vehicles and pyrotechnic systems for example, require safety features to prevent their inadvertent and hazardous initiation during maintenance of the systems; U.S. Pat. No. 3,728,936 for Arming And Safing Device issued on the 24 Apr. 1973 to Norris and U.S. Pat. No. 4,202,271 for Safe And Arm Device issued on the 13 May 1980 to Day disclose different designs for safe and arm units.
As is noted in U.S. Pat. No. 5,375,525 for Ordnance Transfer Interrupter issued on the 27 Dec. 1994 to John T. Greenslade and Donald J. Behrens, a removable safety key which can lock a safe and arm device in a safe position prior to an intended mission to ensure that output devices are not initiated, are particularly desired by customers for safe and arm security devices within pyrotechnic systems. In the even that an arm signal is sent while the particular device is locked in the safe mode, the safety key can not then be withdrawn before an arm signal is removed from the terminals of the device. Therefore, all mentioned designs are not one hundred percent safe for the key can be put in and gets locked, and can not be withdrawn only in a case of the initiated arm signal, but can be removed if the arm signal is not initiated, then there is an opportunity of not properly engaging the key initially or of moving the key during servicing with a result that the key may be removed or dislodged even after the arm signal has been initiated.
After consideration of these and other mechanisms, I discovered that contemporary locks either require a safety release that when engaged prevents the key from being removed after the mechanism is locked or otherwise fails to secure the mechanism from accidental unlocking when a safety release is not desired. Moreover, many contemporary designs of safing locks fail to provide an indication that the mechanism is in a locked mode.
The present invention is 100% save for it makes the device save just by installing the key and the key gets locked and can not be withdrawn with or without the Arm signal. This invention provides means of proving that the key is locked and device is save to work with by first manifesting an audible sound from engaged detents and second the Key can not be taken out when properly engaged until the over-Save signal is initiated from an external source.